… random observations from my journeys through a well-lived life

Posts from the “Argument” Category

… about comparative reading, relationships and discovering what works for you… We have to hold tight and not let others influence us from our chosen path. “What happens when a dream you’ve held since childhood … doesn’t come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books.”

If I was chi-chi I’d call it ‘toilet tissue’, but that makes me think of Kleenex which is facial tissue and doesn’t work well as a substitute, especially since it’s made to hold up to runny noses and doesn’t disintegrate as quickly in the septic tank. You know the room I mean – there are so many euphemisms. Powder room, loo, restroom, lavatory (always makes me think of experiments), john, W.C. (water closet), the can, the crapper, ladies/men’s room, biffy, the facilities, the oval office. Given the shenanigans happening in the White House right now and the effluent being discharged on us all daily, the last one has become more apt. In the old outdoor facility days, we actually did use newspaper. That was…

Alan Watts (1915-1973) was a British writer, a philosopher and a theologian, and he was definitely not ordinary. Inability to accept the mystic experience is more than an intellectual handicap. Lack of awareness of the basic unity of organism and environment is a serious and dangerous hallucination. For in a civilization equipped with immense technological power, the sense of alienation between man and nature leads to the use of technology in a hostile spirit—to the “conquest” of nature instead of intelligent co-operation with nature. Your body does not eliminate poisons by knowing their names. To try to control fear or depression or boredom by calling them names is to resort to superstition of trust in curses and invocations. It is so easy to see…

I just finished posting a blog to http://hyacinthemillerbooks.com based on notes I took at the When Words Collide conference in Calgary in August. The topic was Heroines. “In contemporary novels, there is no Snidely Whiplash and Dudley Do-Right saving little Nell. Today’s characters (male and female) have evolved from the past to become more independent and complete in their own right.” In other words, believable people. When I cruised to my favourite image site – Pixabay – and entered the search terms Amazon and female warrior, I got a page of some of the most foolish illustrations I’ve seen in a long time. So I’m going to have some fun. What is wrong with these pictures? Let me tell you. Usually, these comely creatures…

For years I’ve faithfully maintained a HootSuite account to make it simpler to post simultaneously to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, etc. That’s supposed to save time, but lately, it’s become an obligation and more of a nuisance. I’m feeding the machine, but the wheels are stuck in the mud of TMI (too many inputs)! Every evening, while Hub and I watch the news, I peruse dozens of articles about the writing craft to select those I think will be of interest to my readers and schedule them months in advance. Organized, right? You know what? I’m tired of it. There’s just too much damned noise out there. So many of the articles I read are contradictory, self-congratulatory, condescending or repetitive. How much more…